North Terrace Elementary: 52% of kids clear the bar — ahead of the state's 43%. But the zoned next school scores lower.
North Terrace holds its own. Scores drop at the schools it feeds into. Ask where its graduates actually enrol, and whether families stay on the zoned path.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50 | 20% | 52% | -0.2 | 16.9% | 2.4% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
North Terrace Elementary scores 50 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 68th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “52% proficient” and call it done. North Terrace deserves a closer read. The school sits in Oceanside, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
North Terrace's low-income kids hit 56.6% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 68th percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 52% meet the standard today, versus 57% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 63% | 56% | 56% | 49% | 60% |
| Grade 4 | 48% | 48% | 41% | 40% | 39% |
| Grade 5 | 61% | 59% | 57% | 64% | 64% |
| Grade 6 | 70% | 64% | 56% | 53% | 75% |
| Grade 7 | 69% | 61% | 67% | 51% | 59% |
| Grade 8 | 80% | 68% | 61% | 62% | 67% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 55% | 51% | 49% | 40% | 54% |
| Grade 4 | 57% | 46% | 54% | 44% | 42% |
| Grade 5 | 56% | 43% | 46% | 60% | 49% |
| Grade 6 | 56% | 34% | 47% | 41% | 53% |
| Grade 7 | 59% | 40% | 39% | 29% | 41% |
| Grade 8 | 61% | 33% | 23% | 30% | 31% |
The story this school is actually telling
of students met or exceeded the standard, versus 42.7% statewide.
the zoned path continues to Jefferson Middle, which scores 26 points lower — worth asking about on a tour.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding holds steady across grades; the floor rises 4.6pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
North Terrace's most underrated number
56.6% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At North Terrace Elementary in Oceanside, 56.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. North Terrace Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 21.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (43.3% Math proficient); Hispanic students (52.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 32.0 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 249 students tested.
6 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 2.1pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +7.9pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly twice the rate of Grades 4–6 students (27.8% vs 14.5%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
Where the path goes
The zoned path continues to Jefferson Middle, which scores 26 points lower than this school — worth weighing alongside everything above. Families here often look at charter or magnet options for middle school.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$912 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
At 771 students, this school is well above the typical California elementary school (≈480).
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 51% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is North Terrace Elementary a good elementary school?
What are North Terrace Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does North Terrace Elementary rank in California?
Is North Terrace Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at North Terrace Elementary?
How does North Terrace Elementary compare to other schools in Oceanside?
How does North Terrace Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 46
Nearby Middle Schools
2 within ~3 mi · avg 32
Nearby High Schools
2 within ~3 mi · avg 27
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 82 | 28% | 32% | 22% | 18% | 60% | +16 |
| Grade 4 | 67 | 16% | 22% | 28% | 33% | 39% | −6 |
| Grade 5 | 73 | 29% | 36% | 21% | 15% | 64% | +16 |
| Grade 6 | 63 | 30% | 44% | 11% | 14% | 75% | +28 |
| Grade 7 | 51 | 12% | 47% | 29% | 12% | 59% | +11 |
| Grade 8 | 61 | 20% | 48% | 20% | 13% | 67% | +21 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 81 | 22% | 32% | 25% | 21% | 54% | +9 |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 14% | 29% | 32% | 26% | 42% | +1 |
| Grade 5 | 73 | 14% | 36% | 36% | 15% | 49% | +14 |
| Grade 6 | 62 | 27% | 26% | 27% | 19% | 53% | +18 |
| Grade 7 | 51 | 12% | 29% | 31% | 27% | 41% | +7 |
| Grade 8 | 61 | 15% | 16% | 38% | 31% | 31% | −1 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 133 | 16% | 35% | 45% | 4% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 249 | 56.6% | +22 | +18 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 174 | 52.9% | +18 | +14 |
| White | 129 | 69.0% | +12 | +7 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Terrace Elementary ← | — | 50 | 20.5% | 51.5% | −0.2 | 2.4% |
| Santa Margarita Elementary | 0.8 mi | 53 | 24.1% | 44.4% | +45.5 | 2.8% |
| Palmquist Elementary | 2.7 mi | 44 | 17.8% | 40.8% | −4.0 | 0.5% |
| Stuart Mesa Elementary | 3 mi | 41 | 10.9% | 35.4% | +4.4 | 2.3% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 52 | 69 | #1723 | 22.9% | 56.5% | 10.8% | 0.4% | -0.7pp |
| 2022 | 41 | 62 | #2171 | 19.4% | 50.5% | 36.1% | 0.7% | -2.3pp |
| 2023 | 48 | 69 | #1798 | 19.3% | 50.4% | 20.6% | 2.1% | -1.0pp |
| 2024 | 52 | 72 | #1589 | 21.5% | 49.4% | 13.8% | 1.5% | +17.4pp |
| 2025 | 50 | 68 | #1851 | 20.5% | 51.5% | 16.9% | 2.4% | -0.2pp |
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 10.7% | 14.4% | +3.7pp |
| Male | 10.9% | 19.1% | +8.2pp |
| Black/African American | 1.5% | 6.4% | +4.9pp |
| White | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 12.3% | 17.4% | +5.1pp |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.0% | — | — |
| Two or More Races | 13.8% | 13.4% | -0.4pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 11.5% | 17.9% | +6.4pp |
| English Learners | 6.5% | 19.2% | +12.7pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 9.7% | 18.5% | +8.8pp |
| All Students | 10.8% | 16.8% | +6.0pp |
| Asian | — | 0.0% | — |
| Filipino | — | 40.0% | — |
| Pacific Islander | — | 36.4% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction